Inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. For Greg Gregorian, owner of Lunar Branding, it was a simple idea to improve a promotional product he was using on vacation that inspired him to start his own promo business. Read on to hear Greg’s story and how he’s taking Lunar Branding to stratospheric levels with Scalable Press.
Tell us a little about yourself
“I’m a 30 year-old retired Army captain from Chelmsford, Mass, and I love being my own boss. From the time I was 10, I had an entrepreneurial spirit. I got my start selling gum and mints to my classmates, then CDs and magazines, and now I’m in the promotional products business.
While my highest calling and honor will always be serving in the Army, launching Lunar Branding has opened a new door and I really enjoy being my own boss. A fun fact about me is that I recently got the opportunity to be cast in an upcoming Christopher Nolan film called ‘Tenet,” which comes out later this year. The chance to do this came as a result of an open veteran casting call. I’m not sure if I’ll make the final cut, but I enjoyed the experience! “
Every business has an interesting story as to how it got started. What’s Lunar Branding’s?
“It all started back in 2016 when I was on vacation in Mexico with a travel club I was a member of at the time. The club had these rollout banners that said, ‘You wanna be here,’ and asked each of us to carry one around and take pictures of ourselves with the banner at different points of interest. Everything was fine until I tried to take a picture while swimming in a cenote. That’s when an idea struck me. What if the banner was clipped to a retractable key badge that you could also clip on to your bathing suit? So, I created a short demo video and pitched the idea to the club’s top earners, who didn’t see the potential. By pure coincidence, I ran into the club’s president while traveling to a conference a few months later. I got up the courage to show him the video and he loved the idea. From there, it went to the CEO, who told me to start a promo business, then come back to him. At the time, I didn’t know what a promo business was, but decided to run with it. By May 2017, I launched Lunar Branding, had my first client, and saw my idea turn into a reality. The key badge actually sold out at one of the club’s events.”
How did you get started with Scalable Press?
“After the experience with the travel club, I had a light bulb moment where I realized that I now had the platform to source any product for any company that needs custom merchandise — and every organization does! So I started branching out into the apparel side and noticed I was getting a lot of requests for one-off or small batch DTG orders. It wasn’t my intention to take those orders at the time, but the demand was enough prompt me to do some research on the on-demand printers that could take on the work. I tried every print on demand company out there. Really, I tried them all. And Scalable Press was by far the best printing partner for my business.”
What were you looking for in a print-on-demand partner?
“Several things. I wanted to know about the quality of the print, whether the company had the ability to integrate, what their lead times were, and their packaging options. Scalable Press hit on all of those notes. The platform is so simple and straightforward to use. It takes me almost no time at all to go to the site, pick out a product, and send a quote to my customer. The ability to do that quickly is key in this business. Customer support is outstanding — someone always gets back to me quickly with answers to my questions. And the turnaround time is great. To this day, my customers are amazed that I can get an order to them in less than 10 days from when I placed it. So all of that has been key to helping my business grow.”
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in promo?
“I have a few pieces of advice. First, make sure you have the right systems in place (ecommerce, payment processing, accounting software, etc.) and test them before you launch your business. Second, find a way to differentiate yourself because everyone is selling the same thing. I’ve done this by focusing on delivering a good customer service experience and by constantly looking for ways to innovate and improve upon that experience. It’s all about adding value. Third, find a reliable printing partner that aligns with your business. When I was looking for a printing partner, I had specific criteria, but I also wanted a printing partner that was a reflection of my company, one that was focused on scaling and innovation, which is the future of this industry. And it’s for all of these reasons that Scalable Press is a great partner for my business.”
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